Biography
Olivia Cole (born Olivia Carlena Cole) was an American actress. She was born on 26 November 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, and died on 19 January 2018 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Cole trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating with honours in 1964, and later earned a master's degree in theatre arts from the University of Minnesota. She made her screen debut in the soap opera Guiding Light in 1969 and appeared in numerous stage productions, including a Broadway debut in 1966.
She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series for her role as Mathilda (also credited as Matilda Moore) in the 1977 miniseries Roots. Cole was also known for her performances in the miniseries Backstairs at the White House (1979), for which she received an Emmy nomination, North and South (1985), and films including Coming Home (1978) and First Sunday (2008). She was married to actor Richard Venture from 1971 to 1984.
